Microsoft to Launch Music Service for Xbox, Windows Phones?

Word on the tech streets is that Microsoft is currently in talks with a number of record companies in order to come up with a brand new music service.

According to a c|net report, the new service could be aimed at supplying tunes to the company's immensely popular Xbox as well as Windows Phone platforms. However, it is yet to be learned how this new offering will differ from Microsoft existing music service Zune Music Pass that has gained a fair bit of popularity amongst Xbox subscribers.

Also, the report claimed that the negotiations between the software giant and the record companies are still pretty much in the initial stages, and there is a long way to go before Microsoft and the record companies reach towards an agreement.

All thanks to Zune, Microsoft is already in possession of the necessary licenses from most of these record labels as far as using their copyright protected music is concerned. However, whether or not the company will have to purchase additional licenses for this new offering is yet to be known.

It seems that Xbox maker wants to cash in on its 40 million strong Xbox live subscriber base and with vendors like RIM already offering such services and HTC already thinking about such a service, it is obvious that Microsoft wants a piece of the pie.